Linea Explained: Architecture, Airdrop & More

What is Linea?

Linea is a layer 2 network from ConsenSys that uses zk-rollup technology and a zkEVM to scale Ethereum. It improves Ethereum by processing transactions off-chain, generating zero-knowledge proofs, and submitting them to Ethereum for verification, reducing costs and congestion.

Furthermore, Linea supports all Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, allowing developers to deploy existing decentralized applications easily. With a total value locked exceeding $1 billion, Linea is the seventh-largest Ethereum L2 ahead of Scroll, World Chain, Mode, and Zircuit.

While it doesn’t have a governance token yet, over 2 million wallets have gained exposure to its upcoming airdrop through campaigns, rewarding them with LXP and LXP-L tokens. You can join the Linea journey by following the official X account for new campaigns and bridging to its mainnet.

‍

How Does Linea Work

Linea uses a modular architecture to achieve scalability and maintain Ethereum’s security through its core components: the sequencer, prover, and bridge relayer.

• Sequencer: Orders incoming transactions, builds blocks, and produces execution trace data. This off-chain process accelerates transaction confirmations and ensures low latency.
• Prover: Generates ZK-proofs by validating the correctness of execution traces, allowing Ethereum to verify Linea’s state changes without processing each transaction.
• Bridge Relayer: Connects L2s like Arbitrum to Ethereum’s mainnet, facilitating the flow of messages and ERC-20 tokens through a canonical message service.
• Rollup Mechanism: Linea rolls up batched transaction data, compressing it into a single proof, drastically reducing on-chain congestion and gas costs.
• zkEVM Integration: Executes Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, allowing developers to deploy existing applications directly without modifications.
• Account Abstraction: Enables account recovery, use case-specific limitations, gas fee sponsorship, and asset delegation through smart contract-controlled accounts.

Although this model ensures superior compatibility with Ethereum tools and infrastructure, it trades slightly higher proof generation times for full EVM equivalence, unlike ZKsync and StarkNet, which prioritize speed with their custom zkVMs chains.

‍

Linea Roadmap

Linea’s roadmap outlines five distinct phases aimed at achieving full decentralization and advancing network performance. Phase 0 launched with the Linea Mainnet Alpha, providing EVM equivalence, a public node client, and the formation of the Linea Security Council for risk management.

Currently, in Phase 1, the focus is on open-sourcing Linea’s software stack and achieving 100% EVM opcode coverage to enable trustless execution. In Phase 2, Linea will diversify its Security Council and implement censorship-resistant withdrawals, ensuring users can independently access their assets.

Looking ahead, Phase 3 will decentralize key components like sequencers, provers, and governance, while Phase 4 will introduce a multi-prover system and limit governance powers to maintain trust and resilience.

‍

Linea Token

Linea has no governance token yet, but its XP campaigns have attracted millions of active users. Through the Linea XP (LXP) campaign, 2.4 billion tokens have been allocated to over 1.2 million wallets, with most participants holding between 1,000 and 1,999 tokens.

In parallel, the LXP-L campaign has distributed over 121 billion tokens to 2 million wallets, primarily rewarding liquidity providers and on-chain participants. These campaigns demonstrate strong user engagement and set the stage for a potential airdrop, fostering early adoption of the network.

‍

Linea Airdrop Campaigns

Linea’s airdrop campaigns have introduced interactive challenges designed to stress-test the network, reward early adopters, and showcase its ecosystem’s capabilities.

By distributing Voyage XP points (LXP) and LXP-L tokens, these campaigns incentivize engagement and are expected to determine eligibility for a likely airdrop. Tasks have spanned DeFi, gaming, and cultural initiatives, driving onchain participation and activity.

The table below provides a detailed breakdown of all campaigns, their goals, and key highlights.

‍

1. Linea Voyage

The Linea Voyage campaign ran from May 2, 2023, to July 9, 2023, spanning nine weeks to simulate mainnet conditions. Participants completed weekly tasks such as bridging assets, minting NFTs, and exploring DeFi applications, generating over 30 million transactions from 5.2 million wallets.

The campaign successfully tested Linea’s capacity and attracted a diverse user base ahead of its mainnet launch.

‍

2. Linea DeFi Voyage

Linea DeFi Voyage took place from June 26, 2023, to August 9, 2023, lasting six weeks and introducing users to core DeFi concepts. Participants completed tasks across 10 waves, including swapping tokens, lending, borrowing, providing liquidity, and performing Proof of Humanity (PoH).

By the end of the campaign, over 450,000 verified users completed 9.5 million tasks, demonstrating strong interest in Linea’s DeFi ecosystem.

‍

3. Linea Park

Linea Park ran from February 20, 2024, to April 2, 2024, blending web3 gaming and social experiences into a six-week campaign. Users explored 10 themed zones, unlocking weekly challenges that included playing games, engaging with social dApps, and minting NFTs.

The campaign attracted over 1 million participants and recorded 14 million completed quests, highlighting Linea’s versatility in gaming and social applications.

‍

4. Linea Surge

Linea Surge launched on May 17, 2024, with a six-month goal of increasing liquidity and network participation. Structured into monthly phases called “Volts,” the campaign incentivized users to hold and deploy assets on Linea while offering time-based rewards.

By its third month, over 700,000 wallets participated, earning continuous rewards and increasing the network’s liquidity depth.

‍

5. Culture SZN

Culture SZN ran from July 1, 2024, to August 1, 2024, focusing on community creativity and NFTs. Over five weeks, users minted NFTs from 23 featured creators, voted for their favorites, and participated in daily tasks.

The campaign engaged nearly 1 million users and fostered vibrant competition among creators, amplifying Linea’s cultural and artistic appeal.

‍

How to Use Linea Mainnet

Getting started on the Linea Mainnet is straightforward and opens the door to a range of decentralized applications built on the network. Follow these steps to begin interacting with Linea:

1. Connect to MetaMask: Install MetaMask and add Linea by adding its RPC details from the official Linea documentation. Double-check the configuration to ensure you’re connected to the correct endpoints.
2. Bridge Assets: Use trusted crypto bridges like Hop, Connext, or LayerZero to transfer assets to Linea. Select your asset, specify the transfer amount, and confirm the transaction in MetaMask with sufficient ETH for gas fees.
3. Explore dApps: Start interacting with dApps built on Linea, such as SyncSwap for decentralized exchanges, Nexon Finance for lending and borrowing, and GhostNFT for NFT minting and trading.
4. Track Activity: Monitor your transactions and balances using tools like LineaScan, which provide insights into transaction history and on-chain activity.

‍

Who is ConsenSys?

ConsenSys, a blockchain technology company, has been developing Linea since its launch in 2023. Founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, they are best known for creating MetaMask, Infura, and Truffle, which are essential tools for Ethereum development and user access.

In relation to Linea, ConsenSys has initiated the decentralization of the network by establishing the Linea Association, a Swiss nonprofit responsible for its growth and governance. Additionally, through the association, Linea is expected to give grants for developers.

‍

Linea Partnerships

Linea has secured several major partnerships to deliver better products across DeFi, infrastructure, and interoperability for Ethereum and its protocols:

• ENS Labs: Linea partnered with ENS Labs to build Namechain, a custom layer 2 network set to launch in 2025, enabling scalable, low-cost onchain identity and naming services.
• Chainlink: Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) is integrated with Linea to provide secure and reliable cross-chain communication for developers building decentralized applications.
• Splice Finance: As Linea’s native yield trading hub, Splice allows users to split yield-bearing tokens into fixed and variable components, unlocking innovative yield strategies.
• Renzo Protocol: Through integration with Renzo Protocol, Linea users can restake ETH natively via EigenLayer, adding DeFi liquidity and staking use cases.
• The Graph: Linea supports The Graph’s indexing and querying protocol, helping developers to efficiently access and organize blockchain data for dApps.

‍

Bottom Line

Linea’s thoughtfully executed campaigns and a clear focus on decentralization highlight its long-term vision as an integral part of Ethereum's future development.

However, with the bull market in full swing and recent airdrop successes from projects like Hyperliquid and Pudgy Penguins, Linea's community impatience is clearly growing as they wait for tangible rewards.

Maintaining trust and delivering on key milestones will be essential for Linea to retain momentum and solidify its relevance heading into 2025.